A mashup is defined as a media asset created by combining portions of one or more media assets. For example, a mashup media asset may include overlaying the vocal track of one song over the instrumental track of another. In another example, a mashup media asset may combine portions or clips from multiple video assets. In yet another example, a mashup media asset may include portions from audio assets as well as video assets.
Commercial creators of such mashups may request copyright permissions from the original authors of the respective media assets used in their mashups. However, amateur consumers typically create and distribute their mashups utilizing original work of others without prior authorization, leading to copyright and other legal issues. Moreover, traditional systems lack an effective mechanism that assists users to create mashups from content they may own.